A Day to Get a Flight Home

In Frankfurt, I wanted to get home soon, so I put my AT&T SIM card back in the old iPhone, and dialed up Alaska Airlines reservations to change my reservation for September 29th to something s little closer in time.  Unfortunately, the person with whom I was speaking was not well versed in international flights, and it took over half an hour to get the reservation changed.  The earliest I could get out was Friday evening, arriving back in Anchorage on Sunday morning just after midnight.  Not feeling comfortable with the conversation I had held, I kept watching for the confirming email from Alaska Airlines that the ticket had been issued.  Based on prior experience, I knew that if I don't receive the conforming email, I have to call them back.

I waited eight hours, and then called back.  Sure enough, the ticket had not been issued, and there was no record of my credit card number in the system.  I gave the number again, and within five minutes received the confirming email.  Some reservationists are just better than others, I suppose.  Regardless, I now have a ticket, it is issued and paid for (probably twice), and I have a way home.  While it is taking longer than I hoped, I am having such a bad time with my body clock that it is probably for the best.  I'm still working on Kyrgyzstan time!

Since the train station is downstairs, I decided to head off to downtown Frankfurt on Tuesday.  I rode to the main train station without incident, and followed the iPhone maps to the old Opera House, and then into the shopping district.  Right in the heart of downtown shopping the new and the old are cheek by jowl (I love that phrase!) and it makes for a stunning juxtaposition.  The newer high-rise buildings here are not square or rectangular, but of various shapes and curves, which I enjoy very much.  They are not, however, as curvaceous as those in Turkey or Azerbaijan.  In Baku, the curves are often compound.  I think maybe calculus was involved in the design and construction.  Duh.

On Wednesday, I spent the day getting a haircut, and reconnoitering Terminal 2 from which I leave.  I also wander around Terminal 1, and the baristas at the closest Starbuck's know me, as do the servers at a few of the restaurants.  There is a sushi place that is getting a lot of my business.  I also had to replace the bag I bought in Osh, as it was falling (had fallen) apart by the time it arrived here.  So I have two bags to replace one, giving me three bags total with all of the logistical hassles that come with three bags.  Also needed some clothes, and discovered that I have lost a little more than two inches off my waist.  Hmm.  But I have been working on fattening up since I arrived here, eating three meals a day, including fats and protein, etc.  With good food and rest, I hope to be recharged soon.